The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), led by Air Chief Marshal Manat Chavanaprayoon, Director General, together with CAAT officials and representatives from the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Committee (AAIC), welcomed a team of auditors from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The mission is to conduct a safety oversight audit of Thailand under the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA), taking place from 27 August to 8 September 2025.
This audit is honored by the presence of ICAO senior management, with Ms. Michele Merkle, Director of the Air Navigation Bureau, attending as an observer. The ICAO audit team consists of nine auditors, covering various technical areas as follows:
- Mr. Adel Ramlawi – Team Leader, auditing Primary Aviation Legislation and Civil Aviation Regulations (LEG), Civil Aviation Organization (ORG), and Aerodromes and Ground Aids (AGA).
- Mr. Aziz Boulmane – Personnel Licensing (PEL).
- Mr. Fanghui Pu – Aircraft Operations (OPS).
- Mr. Mashhor Alblowi – Airworthiness of Aircraft (AIR).
- Mr. Ivan-David Nicolas – Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation (AIG).
- Mr. Elkhan Nahmadov – Air Navigation Services (ANS).
- Mr. Edgar Guma – Personnel Licensing (PEL), On-the-Job Training (OJT).
- Mr. Jenaro Iglesias Fernandez – Airworthiness of Aircraft (AIR), On-the-Job Training (OJT).
- Mr. Daniel Galic – Aerodromes and Ground Aids (AGA), On-the-Job Training (OJT).
As part of the audit, the ICAO team will conduct industry visits on 4 September 2025 to assess the readiness and implementation of safety standards across all dimensions of Thailand’s civil aviation system.
CAAT reaffirms its commitment to continuously enhancing Thailand’s aviation safety standards, working closely with all stakeholders to strengthen its Effective Implementation (EI) score. The goal is not only to achieve a positive outcome from this audit but also to attain an excellent level of performance that will reinforce confidence in Thailand’s aviation safety oversight by ICAO and the international community. This aligns with the policy direction of the Minister of Transport, who emphasized that Thailand must not only “pass” the audit but also achieve results that truly elevate the country’s aviation industry to global recognition.
